MOSCOW - The defense lawyers for convicted Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko have not been notified of the fact that she may be exchanged for Russian citizens in the next few hours.
“I know nothing about that. My colleague Mark Feygin doesn’t know anything either. I think it’s better for you to ask state officials,” Nikolai Polozov, a lawyer for Savchenko, told Interfax on May 25.
Several sources with knowledge of the situation told Interfax earlier on May 25 that the Ukrainian presidential aircraft will land at the Rostov-on-Don airport within the next few hours, where Ukrainian military aviator Nadia Savchenk, who was convicted in Russia, is waiting, several sources with knowledge of the situation told Interfax.
“The presidential aircraft carrying Russian citizens Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov will arrive shortly from Kyiv to Rostov-on-Don, where Ukrainian citizen Nadia Savchenko has already been brought,” one of the sources said.
The exchange will take place at the Rostov-on-Don airport, the source said.
Another source told Interfax that Savchenko would be handed over to Ukraine under a bilateral treaty on the transfer of individuals for serving prison terms in their home countries.
“Russian law enforcement officials escorting Savchenko are already in Rostov-on-Don. Based on a bilateral agreement, Ukrainian authorities will hand over the two Russians detained in Ukraine at the same place,” the source said.
